Kwikrink news

What Are You Skating On?

When you apply pressure to ice, it melts. When you ice skate, the blade of your skate presses against the ice which creates a thin film of water that acts as a lubricant to allow the blade to slide.

While skating, you are really skating on a thin film of water. At Kwik Rink, we’ll recreate that same experience for you using synthetic ice panels. Ask us how.

What is Synthetic Ice?

Synthetic ice, sometimes referred to as artificial ice, is a surface that simulates that of frozen h²o. Synthetic ice panels have been around for decades, enabling year-round skating but due to a multitude of performance issues, synthetic ice rinks never quite caught on.

Thankfully, we’ve made significant improvements in synthetic ice panel designs that have drastically improved the quality and experience of synthetic ice rinks.

You Need an Even Surface

Most synthetic ice rinks use a puzzle or dovetail system in which ice panels are interlocked horizontally but not vertically. This system can cause a shift in the panels, which causes the ice to be uneven. Puzzle connections are long and can allow dirt and water to enter, creating an uneven surface or shifting panels.

By utilizing a tongue and groove, the ice panels are interlocked both horizontally and vertically. Interlocking the synthetic ice panels this way prevents the panels from shifting in any direction. This connection system creates a smooth, even surface, just like real ice.

Less Friction = Better Skating

Many synthetic ice panels are composed of low-quality materials that cause friction. This friction causes an unsatisfactory skating experience, dulling skates in the process.

A skater’s smooth flow requires there be no friction. Friction makes gliding difficult, requiring more effort, and also makes a skater exert more energy which detracts from the enjoyment of skating. The highest quality materials must be used to create synthetic ice panels to get the best skating experience.

You Want An Authentic Ice Experience

Most companies utilize new technologies to manufacture synthetic ice panels in an attempt to make skating as easy and as pleasant as possible. However, most plastic ice rinks fail to recreate an authentic ice-like feeling on their synthetic surfaces.

You need to look for ice rinks that use the newest high-quality material and create a response identical to that of authentic ice. Only when a skater feels they are truly skating on ice can they reach their highest potential.

No More Shavings and Abrasions

The Synthetic Ice Buyer’s Guide lists shavings and abrasions as one of the top considerations in selecting a synthetic ice panel for purchase. Inferior quality synthetic ice panels cause shavings and abrasions.

These low-quality panels make the ice rink messy, are hard to clean, and leave skaters unhappy. Using self-lubricating panels adds to the quality of the synthetic ice rink.

No Additional Chemicals

No chemicals need to be added to self-lubricating synthetic ice panels to create a smooth surface. However, this alone does not guarantee exceptional performance.

Every aspect of the synthetic rink process from the production of the synthetic ice panels using the highest quality materials, to the mechanism and pattern by which the panels are connected, to the care of the panels themselves, determine a quality synthetic ice rink.

Stop Dulling Your Blades

If you want to stop blades from being dulled from friction, you will need a premium glide technology with enhanced molecular structure. Low-quality plastic ice rinks do not incorporate this technology, which makes skating difficult and miserable.

Synthetic ice rinks that utilize a premium glide technology enhance the skaters’ glide and allow you to have a better grip just like real ice rinks. These are the perfect conditions for you to attain your skating goals.

High-Quality Materials are a Bargain

Buying cheap synthetic ice panels will cost you in the long run. There are many lower priced, synthetic ice panels which are also of lower quality that will not last. Low quality, cheap, synthetic ice panels, get discolored from the sun and changing weather conditions, many even begin to break down and degrade considerably.

Assurance Your Rink Will Last

If you purchase a quality synthetic ice rink, it will provide long-lasting enjoyment. A high-quality synthetic ice rink will be well worth your investment

Accessories Are Important

Using low-quality accessories will ruin a synthetic ice rink. If your skates are sub-par or your dasher-boards are foul, they’re going to impact your rink negatively. If you want to maintain that even, flawless, synthetic ice, the use of high-quality, compatible, durable accessories is essential to your success. Don’t skimp on the accessories!

Synthetic Rinks Are Gaining Popularity

Using synthetic ice panels to create ice rinks is gaining popularity. Synthetic ice panels have some significant advantages over traditional ice rinks. Synthetic ice panels can get used continuously without re-surfacing and gliding on synthetic ice panels is much more consistent than that of real ice.

The glide factor on traditional ice starts at 100% then reduces to approximately 80% after just a few hours of usage, unlike glide-factor of synthetic ice panels on which does not diminish over time.

Synthetic ice panels are more economical than traditional ice. There is no need to replenish water or use electricity for refrigeration. Synthetic ice panels are environmentally friendly.

Skate Anytime You Want

By utilizing synthetic ice panels, you can have that ice rink you’ve always dreamed. You can have the flexibility to practice your sport at any time. You can play ice hockey in the summer and fulfill all of your icy desires.

Let’s Get Skating

Are you in the market for a fantastic, all-year ice rink? If so, Kwik Rink has what you are looking for. At Kwik Rink we’ll provide you the realistic feel of an ice rink in the form of the highest quality synthetic ice panels preferred by professionals and experts. We use only the highest quality materials and employ the newest technology to provide you a fantastic synthetic ice rink experience.

If you think you need a covered stadium to build an ice skating or hockey rink, think again! The advent of cool, ice-less synthetic rinks means that you can create a place to skate year-round in all kinds of nifty places, and this includes your very own backyard!

At KwikRink Synthetic Ice,™ we’ve been involved in creating and manufacturing synthetic ice since the mid-1990s. We’ve seen the product grow and get even better for feeling like real ice.

We’ve also been part of some advances to make synthetic ice more flexible and affordable. That means that more people and localities can install synthetic ice rinks and enjoy skating without the high costs of refrigeration and maintaining a real ice rink.

Here are some cool places that you can build a synthetic ice rink. Give us a call if you want to get started on one!

Your Basement

A basement can be the perfect place to transform into a hockey rink. You need a flat surface to install synthetic ice, and basements typically have a concrete slab floor. You can turn unfinished storage space into fabulous rink space for practice and fun.

Have a smaller basement? Turn a portion of it into a practice area for stick-handling and shooting. Set up a goal in the corner and have a short space to dribble, pass, and score — or defend.

Your Driveway

A synthetic rink can be built up using side-boards and a foundation to make a flat area, kind of like an above-ground pool. If you have available street parking or a long driveway with an extension, you can turn your rectangular area into a home rink for practicing those skating moves.

Your Backyard

If you have room enough in your backyard for a swimming pool, you have room for a rink. You can build a deck from wood or pour a slab if you want something more permanent. Install your synthetic ice rink on top of it.

You could also create benches or other seating areas for spectators and other skaters. Imagine sipping a cold one on a summer’s day and watching your kids play hockey in the backyard. It could happen!

Game Courts

If you have a multi-purpose room at your school, community center, or parks and recreation site, you can turn your game court into a hockey rink by installing synthetic ice. If you need to use the court for many purposes, you can install a synthetic ice rink by snapping the panels together on the floor.

It’s quick and easy and only takes a rubber mallet to get the job done. It’s not a permanent installation, and you can lift the synthetic ice panels and store to convert the gymnasium back into a basketball court or for dodgeball.

If you do want a year-round ice rink solution, you can still use synthetic ice. The installation changes slightly to put in anchor plates to make it a permanent fixture.

You can keep it synthetic ice at all times, for the closest thing to real ice you can find. KwikRink’s synthetic ice has 90% of the friction of actual ice, and skates and pucks behave very similarly.

Synthetic ice means you don’t have to maintain refrigeration of the ice or use a Zamboni to maintain it. A synthetic ice rink can be a cost-effective solution for many rec centers.

If you install a synthetic ice rink but have cold winters where keeping ice frozen is not a problem, you can have your cake and eat it too. In the winter, you can flood a synthetic rink with water and create an actual ice rink on top of it.

When the weather warms, thaw and remove the ice, and your synthetic rink is ready to go with a little mopping.

Garages and Outbuildings

You can easily convert your garage, with its poured concrete floor, into a synthetic ice rink. Our KwikRink synthetic ice is strong enough that you can even park your car on it. That means you don’t have to remove the synthetic ice to use your garage for your car sometimes.

Just remember to back it out when you want to skate and remember that although synthetic ice isn’t as slick as actual ice, it is still slippery. When you walk to or from your car, treat it like real ice to avoid falls!

You can also construct or use a pre-fab shed or outbuilding with a poured or wooden floor to create a synthetic rink. Sheds are low-cost additions, and synthetic ice rinks do not require access to water, plumbing or power, so you can save money and still get your covered rink on your property.

On a Rooftop

You’ve heard of rooftop pools and patios. Why not a rooftop synthetic ice rink? Many condo buildings, apartment buildings, or hybrid towers have large flat roofs that they have turned into community amenities and features. A synthetic ice rink doesn’t create the weight of an actual ice rink, so it doesn’t stress your roof’s structure.

Imagine a multi-purpose rooftop patio with some folks barbecuing in the corner, some others sunbathing, reading, or looking at the views, and still some others playing a pick-up game of hockey.

If you don’t want to have the hockey rink installed all-year-round, synthetic ice comes in panels or tiles that you can put down and pick up again quickly.

Get Started on Your Custom Synthetic Rink

As you can see, you can install a synthetic ice rink almost anywhere! When you’re ready to consider a project that turns underused space in or near your home or business into a fabulous place to play and exercise, give the pros at KwikRink a call or complete ourrink configuration form.

We’ve got a bank of ideas for cool places to build synthetic ice rinks and a gallery of completed projects to help spark your imagination.

At KwikRink, we stand by our product and have a customer satisfaction guarantee. Enjoy long-lasting durability and superior performance with a KwikRink synthetic ice rink. Give us a call, and let’s see what we can build for you.

Perhaps you love to ice skate, or you are just a weekend hockey player. Maybe you used to play hockey but couldn’t fit getting down to the rink into your schedule.

Maybe your child wants to take up figure skating or ice hockey, and they need a place to practice. Do you have a secret love for curling, and are preparing for your Olympic debut? Or perhaps your child is already an accomplished skater and is trying to compete at a higher level.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could have access to an ice rink close to your home and all-year-round?

That’s not an impossible dream anymore. With advances in technology, you can now install synthetic ice anywhere, indoors or out, in any weather climate. At KwikRink Synthetic Ice®, this is our business.

We can bring a fun, safe, and affordable year-round ice rink to your home, school, or business.

Here are seven reasons why synthetic ice is so cool.

1. You Can Install it Anywhere

Synthetic ice is made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) an oil polymer that is slick, similar to ice, that gets extruded into sheets or panels with interlocking edges.

You can install it like puzzle pieces into existing areas and cut it to fit as needed. You can quickly turn your backyard, driveway, or basement into a small rink area to practice, install it over a larger amount of square footage for a half-size or even full-size rink.

2. It Doesn’t Melt

Made with high-density polyethylene, and not water, synthetic ice doesn’t need to stay frozen. You don’t have the excessive cooling costs associated with a traditional ice rink. It’s also self-lubricating, so it remains slippery.

You can keep your basement at average home temperature, and skate without an issue. It doesn’t matter if it’s in the heat of summer, you can get your ice skating practice done with a synthetic ice rink.

If you’re installing your synthetic ice outdoors, you’ll be pleased to know that it is UV coated to protect the surface from damage from the sun. It’s okay if your synthetic ice gets rained on; you’ll want to clean it of any debris before using.

Best of all, you don’t need a Zamboni to maintain it. Just a broom and a mop.

3. You Can Put It Down and Take It Up

Synthetic ice isn’t a permanent installation. Since it snaps together with edge-locking grooves, you can install it for a while and then pick it up if you need to use the space for another purpose.

Garages make perfect places for home-based synthetic ice rinks since they are large and flat. If you need to host a family reunion or use the space for another purpose, you can lift the synthetic ice panels and store them to use again later.

4. It’s Close to Real Ice But Gives You a Better Workout

High-quality synthetic ice such as KwikRink is made with silicone additives to decrease the friction and get as close in feel to actual ice. Synthetic ice isn’t as slick and frictionless as water-based ice, but it’s quite close, within about 10-15% of the friction of real ice.

That means you have to work a bit harder to propel yourself across the synthetic ice.

Much like trainers attach weights to swimmers’ legs and arms or have runners run through sand and snow, the extra friction of synthetic ice means that if you train on it, you’ll build up additional strength and speed. When you return to actual ice, you’ll be even faster and perform better, thanks to your synthetic ice training.

5. Customizable and Easy to Install

You can order the number of synthetic ice sheets you need to fit the space you are installing them. Synthetic ice comes in various sizes so you can customize it for your unique space. You don’t need to pay for extra materials, only the ones you use.

Since synthetic ice snaps together like puzzle pieces, you don’t need expensive installation equipment or tools to get your customized ice rink. All you need is a rubber mallet to tap the pieces together securely.

You can also order edge guards and add goalie creases, face-off dots, and lines as you prefer.

6. Long-Lasting and Durable

Top quality synthetic ice like KwikRink will last up to 10 years with minimal maintenance. You can practice for countless hours and many years with a single investment. You can even travel with your synthetic ice panels. Load them up in your van and install them on site for an ice-skating party or vacation.

7. Puck and Stick Handling Practice

You don’t need a full-size rink to practice your shooting and stick handling. A 10’ x 10’ area is enough to practice critical skills to up your game. You can practice these skills in your tennis shoes and back yard, but then you’re building muscle memory without your skates, and the puck handling isn’t nearly the same.

When you practice on a synthetic ice installation, you get a very close approximation of how the puck moves across the ice. You can practice passing, cradling, dribbling, and shooting with realistic ice-feel and from the height of your skates, which makes for better transfer of practice skills to the actual rink situations.

Contact KwikRink to Install Synthetic Ice for your Location

Not all synthetic ice is made the same. Lesser quality synthetic ice has a lot more friction and your skates, nor the puck will glide properly. It can also dull your blades and even leave plastic shavings you have to clean up.

Cheaper synthetic ice will only last a few years and not provide the smooth slick ice feel you want. You want the synthetic ice you install to provide the quality, durability, and glide you need.

KwikRink Synthetic Ice is located in Maple Grove, MN, and we are proud to have installed synthetic ice rinks in many locations here at home. You can find KwikRink installations around the world in five continents.

We are a pioneer in developing synthetic ice, and we’ve been in the business since the mid-1990s. We are continually reinventing our product to make it even better, and we’ve just introduced our fifth generation product, which provides unsurpassed glide and reduced drag.

Give us a call at (888) 275-2345 or fill out our rink configuration form to get started. We stand by our product and have a customer satisfaction guarantee.